The history of the United States is, typically, told in the accomplishments of the iconic greats: George Washington. Abraham Lincoln. Martin Luther King.

But have you ever heard of Theodore Judah? Thomas MacDonald? Morris Llewellyn Cooke?

They, too, were greats, argues bestselling author Simon Winchester. They did great things for the United States, but they’re largely forgotten. They did things like build the transcontinental railroad, wire rural America for electricity, and create the interstate highway system.

Now Winchester gives new and long-deserved attention to these forgotten heroes of his adopted homeland, in his book “The Men Who United The States.”